Joseph M Kurtenbach
@jmkurtenbach
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Doing beta revisions on high fantasy THE TWO STAVES when not fighting inner demons or sleeping in front of the TV. #depression #celiacdisease #essentialtremor
Eugene, OR
Joined September 2011
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@SaraSchon
I'm sorry. I'm just a guy in his 60s who wouldn't normally dream of commenting on a relationship tweet. But my main thought in reading this was: No guy is worth wearing 6-inch heels for. I feel pretty confident about this.
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If you weep along with your characters in the first draft, you're probably doing something right.
#amwritingfantasy
#amwriting
#WritingCommunity
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My Twitter Goal is to someday get at least seven *likes* for a single tweet. I have to remind myself it's okay to just build on my strengths and stop dreaming about that elusive Viral Tweet.
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One day I will continue editing my manuscript. But it is not this day! This day I procrastinate!
#WritingCommunity
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@jusanothagirl78
I am so sick and tired of seeing posts from people saying things that make them sound oblivious and ignorant. Thank goodness I can control my tongue when I am in polite company.
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@borbalabranch
Very interesting seeing the different responses here. As I writer, I am drawn to learn more about authors whose work I really admire. Not so much that I want to know everything about their life, but learning about their process and how they view their work is interesting.
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@TheMusicks
@VirginiaMohlere
@DesignObserver
With tongue in cheek, I say I hope you got paid for this reply.
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Hi
#WritingCommunity
!
Let's say you have plot issue coming up in your WIP and you have no idea how to resolve it. How many of you feel confident enough that you don't sweat it because you know it will come together as you write? Or do you fret you won't be able to figure it out?
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@BoldickV
If it's only one reader out of several, and you don't see it yourself, I'd probably ignore it. Bitchiness to me would be expressed through dialogue, so I'd focus on that if you're looking for clues.
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@RylannWatts
I read somewhere the idea that if being around people saps your energy, you're an introvert. If being around people gives you energy, you're an extrovert. Long before I heard this, at any rate, I've always known I'm an introvert.
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@katmcclain15
Absolutely without a doubt as soon as I put down Twitter and take a shower and eat and take a walk and watch the news and check Twitter and eat . . .
#WritingCommunity
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@IrinaSlav1
@KarenBooth5
@GailSpeculates
@bloodmoontrio
@Nightshade386
@amiyawrites
@PKBohan
@AuthorNoir
@Ethan_Edwards26
@SamanthaSLK1
@LacieWaldon
@barb_avon
@IrisWAuthor
@LucyPaulBooks
@TreyStoneAuthor
@itssocole
@FaeTalia
@Faye_E_Arcand
@QuillesInkewell
@R_A_Simons
@BatwoMANDA
@jvscribbles
@mandylawson7
@stephythenerd
@MilyWrites
@WriteMollyWrite
@babyvampami
@YogicAmnesiac
@StoneyD
@Alex_Micati
@TanyaPacker2
@paul_grealish
@SableWhisper
@kahmelb
@TheRillDill_
Thanks for tagging me, Irina! I was never any good at tag. I'd be that slow kid who was always picked last. People could trip and tag me. Anyway.
Sturrak (wizard)
- Powerful
- self-doubting
- grieving
- somber & stoic
- dry wit
- self-sacrificing
@lalimpkin
@PELawson1
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#WritingCommunity
Anyone out there like to read or even write songs or poems in their (especially fantasy) fiction, a la Tolkien? Arguably Tolkien overdid it, but do you like to see it, or does it irritate you? I personally like it on occasion, if pertinent to the story.
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#WritingCommunity
My debut WIP high fantasy, with a couple of chapters to go, is at 135K words. I've already done a lot of editing along the way. Will I have to take a machete to it after beta readers? After dozens of rejections due to length? Stay tuned.
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@hopewinters_
I've yet to hear of an agent requiring a submission be professionally edited prior to querying; if they've chimed in at all they say it's not necessary or advised. That said, the MS must be clean and the very best you can make it. CPs and/or beta readers are encouraged.
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I was just thinking that out there in some alternate universe, I've already finished my WIP.
#WritingCommunity
#writerscommunity
#amwriting
#writing
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@LaterMeans
One. Got it 11 years ago when I was 50. I'd never been a tattoo person before then, but chronic illness and other life events made me want some ink. No regrets; I still love it.
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My 15 yr. old daughter, a sophomore, is already getting college materials in the mail. Why is my brain thinking about her in diapers bouncing up and down to music.
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My MC had never seen a wyvern before so I suppose it's understandable he'd fall on his butt looking up at one flying close overhead.
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@J_Motoki
All that is gold does not glitter
Not all those who wander are lost
The old that is strong does not wither
Deep roots are not reached by the frost
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@AdrianneKar
Ow, that hurts. I'm currently waiting on an editor's take of my first chapter that's like draft
#1
,000 of my beginning, and bracing myself. Just keep on going. Remember every improvement you make, every tidbit you learn, improves your writing from now until forever.
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I hate it when I sit down to write with some degree of motivation and it vanishes just about the moment the computer screen lights up. My brain is like, "Why are you even trying today?"
#WritingCommunity
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@Constantlycrav1
The Scarlet Bacon
All's Quiet On the Bacon Front
A Christmas Bacon
Of Mice and Bacon
The Old Man and the Bacon
The Word For World is Bacon
The Left Hand of Bacon
This is way too much fun. I'm barely getting started.
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I'm writing new material for my WIP. A wizard is teaching some magic stuff to my MC. I like to think it's more trippy than tropey, but we'll see. Wizard's gonna wizard.
What y'all doing?
#WritingCommunity
#amwritingfantasy
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As the sun rose, my WIP reflected the dawn light like a gem, scattering its rays in a taunt that left me squirming in front of my keyboard trying to edit it all back together.
#WritingCommunity
#writerscommunity
#amwriting
#amwritingfantasy
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I feel like my tweets are always late. When I drop them off, everybody is already gone except for a few kind stragglers who stay to help clean up. I figure since I'm already here, I'll help fold chairs.
#WritingCommunity
#writing
#writerscommunity
#Tweets
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Coming up soon I have to write a dragon attack. I've lived my whole life for this moment.
#amwritingfantasy
#WritingCommunity
#writerslife
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Feeling horribly inadequate tonight. It's my
#depression
talking--makes me feel like I've done nothing worthwhile in my life. Like I can count my life's accomplishments on the fingers of one finger. Nothing new, though. Actually, surviving
#depression
is an accomplishment.
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Hi everyone, I've created an author website at where you can see samples of my fiction, and also a Facebook author page at where I talk a little bit more about progress on my upcoming novel.
#WritingCommunity
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I found some old, old queries and rejections (and missing socks) for a novel I'm currently rewriting. Probably 90% of the writing will be new or heavily edited, and most of the characters will, ahem, have more character, but many plot elements will be [1/3]
#WritingCommunity
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Working on my WIP last night, writing on a full-sized keyboard. I have a significant tremor so typing is sometimes difficult, with countless corrections necessary. I was typing the word "slowly" and it came out "slooowly."
#WritingCommunity
#amwritingfantasy
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@guygavrielkay
I agree with the Cooper's Hawk ID. Sharp-shinned Hawks look similar, but the well-defined black cap on this bird points toward Cooper's.
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I read Dune the novel 40 years ago. I haven't been in a movie theater in almost two years, but tonight I'm going to see Dune the movie in IMAX. Now that's patience.
#DuneMovie
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I'm curious how you edit. Do you take a pass for each type of edit, like one developmental edit and one copy edit before you get beta readers, or do you fix everything you find with each pass?
#WritingCommunity
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@wendyparciak
You constantly edit others' work in your head or tell yourself, "I wouldn't have written it that way."
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@AuthorWeston
Wow, some great far off places represented here! It's cool seeming so close to folks who are so far away. You'll have to excuse me -- I'm old and the whole international aspect of social media still blows my mind. I'm from boring Nebraska but it's still beautiful home to me.
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I apparently haven't tweeted in 5 days. With this tweet I've just moved up from the very bottom of the algorithm by one notch. 🎉
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My landlord claims my pet dragon damaged the roof, but I don't see damage on a shingle single. Single Shingle.
#WritingCommunity
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Writers, do you ever forget you're supposed to be editing your stuff and just read?
#WritingCommunity
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@AngelleTerrell
So sorry it's been a such a rough road for you. I was unable to place my first novel 30 yrs ago, but the story was really important to me. I just finished rewriting it, ready for editing then betas. Curious, did you use beta readers or a writers' group? Anyway, hold onto hope!
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Chapter 1 of my high fantasy work-in-progress THE TWO STAVES is on my website. See it here:
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That feeling when you read a bit of your own writing from decades ago and it's better than what you're writing now.😨
#WritingCommunity
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Does anyone else out there randomly think about their WIP when they're not working on it and realize they've forgotten something vital several chapters back, or a way to describe an event in the story that makes way more sense?
#WritingCommunity
#amwriting
#amwritingfantasy
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Looking back through some old writing notes, I ran across rejection letters from publishers and agents for my 1st novel attempt 30 yrs ago. Only 1 mildly harsh one in the bunch, w/several personalized and a few kind comments. I feel new gratitude for them all.
#WritingCommunity
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@lalimpkin
@jmg_writer
@CarlyAspinall
@tczumwalt
@writewilley
@DerekRKing2
@SebastianHetman
Thanks for including me in this joyous occasion! 😁
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I've been able to do a little editing the last few days. Fighting
#depression
, you know. Also getting out for a few short walks. Keeping connected to the work and the real world. Not too shabby, come to think of it.
#WritingCommunity
#amwritingfantasy
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@BoltonWriter
I commend your fortitude. My impression is that it's usually not an ask, but more like a proclamation. And sometimes it's for GIFs-same idea. And yet somehow it works. Many dozens if not hundreds of responses.
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Happy Sunday,
#WritingCommunity
! I've written one whole sentence on the WIP in the last 24 hours, and barely 200 words the day before. Longing for those 600 or 800 word days. Ah, well. Wishing you a day of productivity, whatever your definition is.
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@sliced_carpet
Kidney stone pain was the most severe. But there is no misery like severe abdominal cramps and nausea, or chronic urinary tract problems that sent me to the ER multiple times, hospitalized for days, and with an indwelling catheter for weeks.
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@NatalieKelda
It's a dialogue tag. In my opinion, "said" would be much more appropriate here. For one thing, the dialogue here is just a statement; Varsha isn't really explaining anything. Also, when a dialogue tag is needed at all, "said" works just fine most of the time. Hope this helps.
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After being on jury duty the last few days, I'm ready to get back to a kinder, gentler world that makes some kind of sense. Just need someone to tell me where to find it.
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@DanQwritesthing
I love semicolons; people get confused about their use partly because of the name: they're not half a colon; they are their own punctuation mark deserving of their own identity, dammit.
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@Medrek_Writes
Funny, I just answered a very similar question so I'll copy my response: I fell in love with THE HOBBIT at about age 20 and got hooked on fantasy. I started writing when I discovered I wanted to be able to create stories that readers would fall for the same way I did.
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#WritingCommunity
Don't you love the feeling of accomplishment when you've just finished a good writing session?
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Hi Twitter users, do you ever struggle with yourself about whether to respond back (nicely) to someone who seems to be a little riled up about something you said? You know your point was good and valid, but you also know continuing the interaction likely won't end well.
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Tell me about a recent read,
#WritingCommunity
. I'm rereading The Faded Sun trilogy by C.J. Cherryh. It's from 40 yrs ago and was very influential to me as a young writer. It's enlightening to read again after so long, to see again what I admired.
#amreading
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You people! I'm almost in tears! 😁 And I love you all.
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When I tell people I want my novel to be a bestseller and they say, "Don't hold your breath," I hold my breath anyway just to spite them.
#WritingCommunity
#amwriting
#amwritingfantasy
#writing
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So I wrote about 400 words last night, starting to unstick a sticky situation in the story. Unfortunately a beloved character didn't make it.
#WritingCommunity
#amwritingfantasy
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Just wrote an emotional five-Kleenex scene. I need a teddy bear.
#amwriting
#amwritingfantasy
#WritingCommunity
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@rebauthor1
Mine is right there in my bio. I've also tweeted about it occasionally. I'll be looking for an agent that is understanding of mental illness--and I'm pretty much assured of that since my MC has depression.
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@kolbeck_j
A few suggestions you may already know: Cut anything non-essential to the plot, no matter how flowery. Destroy adverbs. Use active voice. Have a killer first sentence. These are all easier said than done, which reminds me - cut cliches like the first half of this sentence. GL!
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Update: I wrote tonight😯. This is an accomplishment for me, even if it's just 1 page like I did today. I also do go back and line edit the previous day's work. Anyway, small potatoes to some, but it gets me a page closer. Only about 150 to go.👍
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#WritingCommunity
Seems like I've been spending more time lately going back in my WIP to reread what I've already written for consistency than I have writing new material.
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I made pretty good progress on my WIP last night. Wrote about 3 pages, which is prodigious for me. Funny that a lot of my research is actually going back in this manuscript and making sure I get details right farther along in the book.
#WritingCommunity
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Do any of you read through your Twitter timeline and get ideas for your own tweets? I do. Seems like a strange sort of feedback loop.
#WritingCommunity
#amwriting
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That feeling of sadness when a professional you've been following online for years, who you thought was kind and funny and intelligent, turns out to have a cruel streak that turns your stomach. Suppose I'll have to put them in a story.
#WritingCommunity
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As a fiction writer I tell myself the quality of my writing and storytelling is more important than trying to figure out the fickle labyrinth of social media. Not that having an online presence isn't important; just that I have far more control over the former.
#WritingCommunity
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I pasted together the last chapters of my WIP with the rest of the manuscript. Final length of this completed draft: 151K words. I've got more editing and betas to go, but for a debut fantasy I intend to query, my mind is kinda like *yikes* right now.
#WritingCommunity
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I'd never thought about this. I used to be ambivalent about emojis but use them more often now. Reconsidering.
#WritingCommunity
#Writers
#amwriting
Emojis are increasingly coming up in court cases. Judges are struggling with how to interpret them
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Hi
#WritingCommunity
, my daughter is making me gluten free crumb cake today. Wishing you that kind of love and sugar this weekend.
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@AilsaMahony
@FranWongWrites
@wendyparciak
From what I've heard, I wouldn't recommend that approach (just changing the title), unless you want to irritate and alienate an agent. 1st, unless the edited version is drastically different from the original, they likely still aren't interested. 2nd, be honest w/full disclosure.
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We finally got some rain and weather here in parts of western Oregon the last couple of days that cleared smoke from the air in magnificent fashion. Hope it's helping the fire fighters in their vital work.
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@lalimpkin
That's a good thing. I suggest if you come up with details, dialogue, scenes for that 3rd book, take notes, and draft those bits and pieces. They don't have to be organized, but don't rely on your memory to file those gems away for later use. Spoken from experience.
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I scheduled an appointment for Saturday to have an author headshot photo session. Now I need to get a haircut, do laundry, iron shirts, and obsess over it for 4 days.😬
#WritingCommunity
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Depression and doubt be damned, I made good progress on the WIP the last several hours!
#WritingCommunity
#amwritingfantasy
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Tonight I have to write more potentially emotional stuff, involving a large bear-like creature and teleportation. I wonder what a normal life is like.
#amwriting
#amwritingFantasy
#writingcommunity
#writerslife
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So, the reason for good guys with guns is to provide bad guys with guns. Got it. I must have missed that memo.
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It's the middle of the night and I'm on twitter and I just have this mental flash of Jar Jar Binks related to nothing and I don't know if I'll be able to sleep again this night.
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@lalimpkin
Yeah, depression is complicated. Unlike many, mine came on suddenly & later in life, and it doesn't go away, but ebbs and flows. Right now I have my creativity, but sometimes I don't, and it sucks. I've been on many meds and therapies, but there's a barrier I can't break thru.
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1000 followers! On the button! At least until one or more people dump me. And then I get to go through 1000 all over again! Anyway, thank you, followers. You are the best people on Twitter. I do appreciate you.
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#WritingCommunity
How many of you read a piece of advice somewhere to improve your book's chances and you immediately go back in your mind or your manuscript to see if you've done it. And all the while you're worried your whole story is trash if you haven't incorporated it.
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@theoneginevra
I would, but they don't have an up-to-date linux version. I'm currently trying out
@LivingWriterApp
on my WIP for a post-beta-reader deep edit.
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I find myself in the odd position of needing to rewrite my first chapter and finish my last chapter at the same time. I know, I know, but my brain can only work sequentially for so long until it has to fix things. I have no method, only madness.
#WritingCommunity
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